Being a nonbeliever in Small Town America, I'm frequently running into the religious. After they realize that I don't believe what they do, the question they quickly ask is: "so then, what do atheists believe in?"
A valid question. When I was a theist, I had no clue what an atheist was, so I don't blame them at all for asking it. The answer is rather simple, and some find it less satisfying than they'd like, but the answer I usually give is:  probably not all that different that you.
See, to be an atheist means that you don't hold a belief in deities (you don't think gods are real things). That's all there is to it. Just because someone proclaims atheism, this tells you absolutely nothing else about them. You don't know their sexual orientation, their favorite color, or their political affiliation. They might believe that space aliens made humans and taught them Hebrew. Or they might believe in ghosts, or gnomes, or reincarnation. Or they might not. You know nothing more about them, other than that they do not believe in any god or gods.
Imagine a room full of atheists. You can't determine anything else about them just from their atheism. It'd be like imagining a room full of teenagers, or a room full of wine lovers. Nothing else can be learned about each individual without asking deeper questions.
All you have to do is ask one. I can only speak for myself on certain topics, and I (as well as any atheist) can't speak for "atheists" as a whole. But most atheists might reject other supernatural claims, such as an afterlife, for the same reasons that they reject a notion of a god. Most atheists are also humanists, and treat others with love and kindness not because it is mandated or supplied by anything supernatural, but because it's socially beneficial and "the right thing to do".
Most theists who ask this question generally mean, "Well, if you don't believe in Jesus/God/Allah/Shiva/etc., what do you believe in?" So aside from the whole "god" thing, most believers and nonbelievers can agree on certain beliefs. Like love, compassion, protection of rights. I also believe in the theory of gravity, the theory of sexual reproduction, and the theory of evolution by natural selection. I also believe that even though they are morally reprehensible and should not be supported, the Phelps family of the Westboro Baptist Church should have their freedom of speech rights supported and protected.
Hopefully now you can see why asking "what do atheists believe?" is rather an incorrect question. A better one would be, "what does [this particular atheist] believe?"
[Check out my new channel on youtube.com/smalltownatheist]
-STA
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Comments: 13
I rarely meet a Believer who thinks that he personally is going to face eternal punishment, In fact, eternal bliss seems to be the main motive for professing faith in a supernatural creator. I actually think that a lot of people who profess faith in a just and loving God don't actually mean what they say. I cannot imagine a just and loving God approving of slavery, subjugation of women, Torture of captives, war, fraud, or a lot of the business as usual practices that do so much harm to the naive.
you should hear the questions i get when they find out i belive in fairies.................hehehe.......
actually it's not really questions,but raised eyebrows and funny faces.
good luck inyour small town
Also about the article: I didn't know that athesist belived (could believe) aliens droped us off and tought us Hewbrew! (haha)
Question for "god": What happened to all the people in BC who didn't have anyone one to "save thier sins?"ALSO: what about people in India or where ever who have never heard of you?
I find that smiling at people when they start talking about gods or religion works for me. The smile is for me actually and not them, as I wonder off into my own world, leaving them there talking to themselves.
I get asked how can I be both an atheist and a pagan? Its simple, pagans are merely people who believe nature is supreme. Far from worshipping the Devil as Christians like to insist, we know Satan is just another invention of the Abrahamic religions.
That being said, as a Christian, I don't look down or judge anyone for what they believe or don't believe. When it comes down to it, nobody REALLY KNOWS what happens to us when we die. Whether we become just worm fodder or if we are actually joined with loved ones in the afterlife. People believe on pure faith alone. Doesn't mean any of it is true. I've got a really good friend who's an Athiest and a couple who are spiritual, but don't follow any one doctrine or god and they are wonderful people. As long as someone is a good person they are okay in my book.
A co-worker of mine once said she would hate to be left in a room with an Athiest (it was a questionair email thingy she was answering). LMAO!....I mean. How on earth would she even know the person was an Athiest unless the topic came up? It's not like it's branded on your foreheads. lol
Anyway....Good article.
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